


all my nightmares escaped my head

by RadioFreeHayden



Category: The Bright Sessions (Podcast)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Major Character Injury, Not Canon Compliant, Stabbing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22221004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadioFreeHayden/pseuds/RadioFreeHayden
Summary: Damien and Adam are leaving, and everyone is still yelling, and he needs to do something, but his body feels like it’s on fire and he’s feeling too many things, it shouldn’t be possible for a person to feel this many things, it’s too fucking much, and Adam is gone.Damien kidnaps Adam.
Comments: 27
Kudos: 27





	1. bar the door, please don't let them in

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WhatsATerrarium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatsATerrarium/gifts).



> For Luna, because yes, New Years Gifts are a thing, even if they're several days late.
> 
> Title from "Welcome Home, Son" by Radical Face.
> 
> Thank you to everyone in the discord server for contributing ideas, listening to me yell a lot, and just generally being amazing.

  
“Get away from Adam.”

Caleb’s anger builds and builds, and Damien is trying to build something too, trying to put up a wall that will hold back the anger that’s filling every cell in Caleb’s body.

The wall isn’t going to hold. 

“No can do, kiddo,” Damien says.

He doesn’t fucking get it. He’s still so goddamn smug; he doesn’t understand that his wall is going to fare about as well as a piece of plaster against a tsunami. “Seriously, Damien.”

“Aw, you’re so mad - look at your little face,” Damien taunts. “God, you’re practically shaking. Well, I’d love to stay and watch you furrow your brow some more, but we’ve got an auntie to go visit. Come now, Adam.” 

Adam moves to follow Damien, and Chloe reaches out to try to stop him. “Adam, don’t listen to him-”

“I- I can’t-”

“If you do anything to him, I swear-” He isn’t going to let Damien hurt Adam. It’s not happening. 

“Aw, don’t worry, big guy. I just need to get his aunt’s attention,” Damien sneers. “I’ll only hurt him a little.”

The wall crashes down like fucking Jericho. 

He hits Damien across the jaw, and something cracks. “You’re not gonna touch him-”

He pushes Damien over and hits him again, and again, and everyone is yelling, and Damien hits him back, somewhere in the stomach, but it doesn’t matter, none of it fucking matters and his only thought is _Adam_ . . . until his whole body fills with heat radiating from where Damien hit him. He looks down and-

Oh. 

Fuck.

Damien didn’t hit him, he fucking _stabbed_ him.

Damien grunts and shoves him aside and stands up.

Everyone’s emotions shift but he can’t process what they are- he’s feeling everything at once and none of it fits, none of it fucking fits, and all the feelings blend together like one of those crayon melting art projects gone horribly wrong. Damien and Adam are leaving, and everyone is still yelling, and he needs to _do something_ , but his body feels like it’s on fire and he’s feeling too many things, it shouldn’t be possible for a person to feel this many things, it’s too fucking much, and _Adam is gone-_

He’s gone. 


	2. it stung my eyes, but I was too stubborn to blink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marcus is cool and read over this for me; thanks dude.
> 
> Chapter title from "Sleepwalking" by Radical Face.

Despite what certain people may believe, Ellie Wadsworth isn’t some kind of emotionless monster. She’s perfectly capable of experiencing love, and sadness, and joy. And fear.

She just happens to be very good at harnessing those emotions. That ability to use her own emotions to her advantage has fueled her success for years. She doesn’t worry, she gets shit done. She can fix this. She just needs a plan. She needs to get her priorities in order. 

Priority number one: Adam. As much as she’d prefer to have him with her, where she can be absolutely certain that he’s okay, he probably _is_ safe with Joan. And given how stubborn Joan is being right now, Ellie doesn’t really have a choice.

Which brings her to priority number two: Becca and Elijah. If Damien can’t get to Adam, the next best way to get her attention would be threatening her sister. 

She drives straight to Becca’s house and rings the doorbell. Elijah answers the door. “Annabelle, hi. Have you seen Adam?” He looks worried, and Annabelle feels a new flash of anger at Damien for daring to threaten her family like this.

“I-” She’s cut off by her phone ringing. It’s Joan, and a call from Joan means the priorities have shifted. She wouldn’t be calling unless she absolutely had to. Something’s happened. “I have to take this.”

She answers the phone. “Hello, Joan.” Her voice sounds as controlled and confident as ever. Good. She _is_ in control here, and she’s not going to let anyone forget it. Least of all Joan Bright.

“Damien took Adam.”

And just like that, the entire veneer of calm vanishes. Her worst nightmare is playing out in real time. “He what?”

“He followed us and we tried to stop him, but I-we-”

“You told me he would be safe with you.”

“I’m sorry-” Joan’s voice catches.

“You’re sorry? The person I love most in the world was kidnapped, and the most you can say is that you’re sorry?”

“Yes, I wonder what that’s like,” Joan bites.

“Joan, I don’t have time for this.”

Joan laughs incredulously, indignantly. “You don’t have time for it? You kidnapped my brother! For five years! Do you even know what you’ve done to him?”

“I thought we’d moved past this.”

“He’s traumatized, Ellie! You’ve done irreversible damage, and you can’t just brush that off like it’s nothing!”

This isn’t what Ellie needs right now. What she needs is to focus on getting Adam safe, and Joan insists on dredging up old wounds. She doesn’t have time for hysterics, she needs _answers_. “Where did Damien take Adam?”

“I don’t know.”

“Damn it, Joan, you had one job!”

“Don’t try to put this on me. This wouldn’t even be happening if it weren’t for the things you’ve done.”

“My job-”

“-should not include kidnapping people and experimenting on them! Those are human beings!”

“Joan-”

“They’re just people, Ellie, why are you so afraid?”

“ _Because I died, Joan_!” 

Joan falls silent. 

It isn’t an admission she meant to make, but fine. She can work with this. At least it got Joan to stop her self-righteous tirade.

“You- What?”

“One of your precious little Tier 5 martyrs _killed me_.”

“You’re not dead.” Joan’s tone is flat, but Ellie knows her. She knows there’s curiosity lurking just beneath the surface of her words. 

“Defibrillators are hardly a new invention, Joan, do keep up.”

“When was this? What happened?”

“It doesn’t matter when it was.” She cuts off Joan’s sputtering response. “My point is, Atypicals aren’t ‘just people.’ They have an incredible amount of power, and if you truly believe that they all have noble intentions, you’re not nearly as smart as I thought you were.”

“Ellie-”

This conversation is getting her nowhere, and she can’t afford to waste any more time arguing with Joan. She hangs up . . . and finds herself face to face with a furious Rebecca Hayes. 

“Annabelle, what the _fuck_ is going on?”

* * *

Adam is terrified out of his mind.

Or, he should be. He saw his boyfriend get stabbed, and he’s been kidnapped by a fucking mind manipulater and he has no idea where he is or where he’s going. Terror would be a reasonable emotional response here. 

Instead, he just feels numb. He’s scared, sure, but it’s kind of . . . distant. He _should_ be freaking out, but he just . . . can’t access those feelings. He- well, he doesn’t want to. 

He knows that the reason he doesn’t want to is because of Damien, but knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to push past it. If he weren’t experiencing it directly right this second, he might be fascinated by the psychological reasons for why that is, and by how Damien’s ability works. But it isn’t some fun intellectual puzzle for him to think about, it’s a terrifying reality he’s living. And besides, he can’t make himself focus long enough to even attempt to answer any of the questions he has.

This type of brain-fog - this sensation of being unable to focus, of feeling as though his feelings are all buried under a layer of sludge that he doesn’t have the energy to dig through - it isn’t new to Adam. He wonders if Damien knows that he has depression, if he knows that what he’s making him feel right now is so similar to something Adam has felt countless times before.

He probably knows. It’s obvious, isn’t it?

Adam should be angry that he’s being manipulated like this.

He doesn’t care. 

Damien’s phone rings; he picks up. “Howdy, Annabelle.”

“Where is he?”

“I take it you’ve heard the news already.”

“Damien, if you don’t tell me where you’ve taken my nephew, I swear I-”

“Hey now, Director. You’re not exactly in a position to be making threats right now, are you?”

“If you hurt him-”

“Relax, Wadsworth. I haven’t done anything to him. Yet. Look, you know what I want; there’s no need to complicate things.”

“This immunity thing isn’t as simple as you think it is. If you came to the AM-”

“Fuck no. Not in a million years,” Damien says. “You’re a smart woman, Director Wadsworth. I’m sure you can figure something out. And you know what, I’ll make it easier for you: I’m sure you’re tracking us, somehow, what with all those ‘resources’ you’ve got, but just in case-” He gives her an address, then tosses the phone to Adam. “You know what to do.”

He does. As soon as he catches the phone, his emotions flood back into him. He’s absolutely fucking terrified, more afraid than he’s ever been in his life, and the only thing he wants right now is for his aunt to come get him, to take him anywhere but here. “Annabelle?”

“Adam!”

“Annabelle, please come get me. I-Damien hasn’t done anything, but I don’t know what he’ll do if- I’m so fucking scared, Annabelle.”

“I’m coming, okay, Adam? I’m going to come get you. You’re going to be okay.”

“Okay. Okay, just . . . please hurry.”

Adam hangs up. He still feels scared, and less hazy now. He’s not sure if it’s because that’s what Damien wants him to feel, or because Damien has decided that controlling Adam’s feelings isn’t worth the trouble right now.

He can’t decide which option is worse.

* * *

Owen walks into Ellie’s office and finds her sitting at her desk, looking through one of the many files scattered around her. That’s . . . interesting. Scattered files are more Joan’s vibe than Ellie’s. 

He clears his throat. “Director Wadsworth? You asked to see me.”

“Damien kidnapped my nephew.” She doesn’t even look up at him as she says it.

“That’s . . . I’m very sorry, Director.”

“I don’t need you to be sorry, I need you to help me fix this.”

“Of course. Do you know why he . . .”

“He wants to be immune to other Atypicals.”

Ah. That would explain the files, then. “But . . . you’re not going to indulge him, are you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she says. “No. I’m going to get Adam, and I need backup. Who’s on right now? Dr. Ramsey? Agent Cherry? Call them up here.”

It takes him a moment to put together what she’s saying. "That serum is almost completely untested.”

“It works.”

“That’s not the issue here. You can’t make your employees take an experimental drug.”

“I can convince them to volunteer.”

“That’s not _volunteering_ , Ellie; it’s coercion, and it’s a complete abuse of power-”

She sets her pen down and looks at him directly for the first time since he walked into her office. “God, between you and Joan, today really does seem to be the day for lecturing me about my moral code, doesn’t it?”

“What- what happened with Joan?”

“That’s none of your business. Much like the decisions I make when it comes to protecting my family.”

“You directly called me up to your office,” he points out. 

“Yes, because I thought I could rely on you to do your job.”

“My job shouldn’t include pressuring employees into taking experimental drugs.” 

“I need to make sure my nephew is safe. Do you honestly think I give a damn what’s an abuse of power right now?”

“I understand, but that doesn’t change th-”

“Agent Green, I don’t have time for a lecture right now. Either call them up here or I will.”

It would be so easy to just give in. To cave, and convince himself later that there was nothing he could have done, arguing with Ellie is impossible; it wasn’t his fault. But he’s not sure this is how he wants to live his life anymore. Playing a yes-man has done more damage than he’d like to admit. Has hurt more people than he’d like to admit.

_Being a bystander does not make you exempt from culpability._

“I can’t let you do that.”

“Excuse me?” She raises her eyebrows at him. “I direct this facility, I don’t need your _permission_ to do anything.”

“You still have to answer to headquarters.”

“Headquarters tends to be very supportive of my scientific enterprise.”

“‘Scientific enterprise?’ Those are real, breathing people, Ellie!”

“So is Adam!”she yells, and for a second, he sees it: how absolutely terrified she is. She collects herself quickly, slipping on her usual mask, but that doesn’t change that he saw it. In all the years he’s known her, he’s never seen Ellie like that. Passionate, yes. But never . . . vulnerable, like that. Never so afraid.

He swallows. “Let me do it.” 

“What?”

“I’ll go with you to get Adam. Let me take the serum.” There’s no question. No hesitation. Ellie needs help, Adam needs help, and isn’t just going to stand by and let either of them get hurt. 

She gives him a look he can’t decipher, then nods. “Okay.”


	3. and I pray that I'll keep still

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Haunted" by Radical Face

As it turns out, getting stabbed fucking hurts. 

It didn’t at first. It was just a weird tingling sensation, followed by a whole lot of heat - like a bad fever multiplied by 1000. 

But then the pain showed up. It felt like . . . well, like being stabbed in the gut. Caleb doesn’t have other words for it. There’s not a lot of nuance here; it fucking hurts. 

So now he’s lying on the floor, and Chloe is holding his hand, and Sam is putting pressure on the spot where Damien fucking stabbed him, and everything hurts. Adam is gone, and he’s powerless to do anything about it. He can barely even move, for fuck’s sake. 

He’s fucking helpless.

“What do we do now?” Chloe asks. “Take him to a hospital?”

Caleb shakes his head. “No, no, can’t, it’s- bad feelings.” He apparently can’t form coherent sentences, but he needs them to understand anyway.

“The AM-” Dr. Bright starts, but Mark cuts her off right away.

“No. No fucking way we’re taking him there.”

“The AM is equipped to deal with situations like this,” Joan says. “He’s an empath; they aren’t going to be interested in him.”

“You don’t know that.”

“We can’t take him to a regular hospital,” Dr. Bright says. “They’ll ask too many questions we can’t answer, and he can’t handle that kind of emotional input in the state he’s in.” Caleb hates being talked about like he’s not there, but he doesn’t have the energy to interject. He’s too busy trying to figure out how to breathe without feeling like he’s getting stabbed all over again every time he inhales. “He’s in pain, Mark-”

“You think I don’t know that?” Mark snaps. “I can fucking feel it, okay?”

Mark’s rising anger pushes against Caleb’s ribs, and it hurts, but it’s a relief, too. Caleb is grateful for the anger, desperate to feel anything but completely fucking helpless. 

The helplessness had left him paralyzed, but the anger gives him back his ability to speak and his desire to act. “Adam,” he says. “We have to get Adam.” 

“We can’t,” Dr. Bright says. “There isn’t anything we can do right now but wait and trust that Wadsworth will take care of it. And get you some actual medical attention,” she adds.

“Your plan is to trust Wadsworth?” Mark says incredulously.

“I don’t trust that woman as far as I can throw her, “ Dr. Bright says. “But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that she will stop at nothing to protect the people she loves.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Mark mutters.

“Mark-”

“You don’t know, okay? None of you know what that woman is capable of. And I know Damien is- well, what he did is bad, really bad, but he’s- no one deserves to be treated like that, not even him. I mean, who knows what she’ll do to him!”

The anger - Mark’s or his own, he can’t really tell - pulls Caleb in and keeps growing. “You don’t know what Damien will do to Adam either.” He sits up and leans forward as he says it. 

Sam leans forward too, trying to keep her hands positioned on his abdomen. “Caleb-”

“No, you don’t- you can’t-” he’s lost his ability to speak coherently again, but he needs her to understand this, to get that there’s nothing more important than finding Adam and making sure he’s safe. He pushes her away, and she grunts, and he stops dead. 

The fear is back now- not that it was ever gone, but it isn’t hiding behind anger anymore. 

What if he’d hurt her? He didn’t; he’s pretty sure he didn’t, but he could have. He would have. He got caught up in the anger and the fear and the pain, and he almost hurt Sam. 

Fight, Flight, or Freeze. Those are the options, right? The body’s natural response to fear. And Caleb isn’t a “freeze” kind of person; he never has been. But right now, he’s paralyzed, terrified of what he might do if he moves. 

In that fight with Tyler, the one that landed him in Dr. Bright’s office in the first place, he remembers feeling like someone else got behind the wheel and threw his fist for him. 

He doesn’t want to be in the driver’s seat anymore. He can’t do it anymore; he might hurt someone else; he needs someone less dangerous in control.

So he lets everyone else make the decisions for him. He doesn’t argue, doesn’t do anything, just lets Frank lead him out to a car. Dr. Bright drives him towards the AM, and he doesn’t say a word.

He’s in the back seat, and that’s where he belongs right now.

The AM visit itself is pretty simple. It doesn’t last long - someone makes some excuse about how being home, away from unfamiliar emotions, will be better for him, but really, he just didn’t want to spend a second longer in the AM than necessary. The place freaks him out. He gets stitched up; his parents come to take him home. He’s not there to witness it, but Alice tells him in the car on the way home that they went off on Dr. Bright when they found out what happened. He should be angry about that, should want to defend her, but he just feels numb.

It’s not until he’s back at home, alone in his room, that it hits him again: Damien kidnapped Adam. He tried to stop him and he couldn’t, and Adam might be hurt, and Caleb can’t do anything about it.

Twice, at the safe house, he almost lost it completely, and both times, something stopped him - first a knife and then his own fear. But there’s nothing holding him back anymore. 

He picks up a pillow and chucks it as hard as he can at the wall, and that’s all it takes to set off a full blown rampage. He starts grabbing more things - shoes, football trophies, stuffed animals, anything he can get his hands on. He knows, somewhere in his head, that this isn’t going to help anything, but this anger is going to swallow him whole if he doesn’t do something, and it feels good to just throw stuff. He keeps going, barely even registering what he’s doing anymore, until he notices what he’s holding.

Technically, it’s his own sweatshirt, but Adam has basically claimed it at this point. He must have left it here the last time he was over. And it turns out Caleb was wrong; there is still something that can stop him. 

He clutches the sweatshirt to his chest and sobs.

There’s a knock on his door. “Caleb?” It’s Alice.

“Go away.”

“I’m coming in.” She opens his door and walks in.

“Alice, I said-”

“I heard you. But if I leave, you’re just gonna keep screaming and wrecking your room. So I’m not going away.” Alice pushes some books out of her way and sits down next to Caleb on the floor. 

“You’re . . . calm. How are you so calm?”

She shrugs. “You and Mom and Dad seemed to have the freaking out pretty much covered.”

Caleb snorts. “Yeah, you could say that.” He wipes his eye with the heel of his hand. “I just - I’m really worried about him. I mean, obviously I am, he got fucking kidnapped. But I hate that I can’t do anything at all about it. I feel fucking powerless, and I hate it.”

“Yeah, it sucks,” Alice agrees. “But dude, you’re gonna rip your stitches out or something. So what’s gonna happen is: I’m not leaving. I’m staying here, and I’m staying calm, until you get a call telling you that he’s home and he’s okay. Okay?”

Caleb lets Alice’s calm settle over him like a blanket. It doesn’t take away his fear or anger or desperation, but it takes the edge off just the tiniest bit. It gives him space to breathe. “Yeah, okay,” he says. "Thanks, Alice. That - it means a lot."

"Yeah, well, don't go feeling too special. I'm only doing it because it's an excuse to make you listen to all my problems."

He gives a weak laugh. “You know I can tell when you’re lying, right?”

“Yeah.” She turns serious again. “For real, though. I can distract you if you want, or I can just shut up and sit with you.”

He considers it. He doesn’t exactly want to be distracted right now - avoiding thinking about the situation feels like a luxury he hasn’t earned, not until he knows Adam is okay. But if Alice doesn’t give him something else to focus on, he’ll just fall right back into the same spiral of anger and fear. And he’s scared of what he might do if he gets that angry again. He doesn’t want to risk hurting anyone. 

“A distraction would be nice.”

“Cool.” Alice leans over and rests her head on his shoulder. “So there’s this guy Joseph in my English class, and he thinks he’s sooo much smarter than the rest of us . . .”


	4. be careful, be cautious, but you just wished harder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Burned Out" by dodie

This shouldn’t be happening. It _wouldn’t_ be happening if Ellie had been more careful. She should have done more to protect him. 

She fucked up. But she won’t anymore. Damien has his ability, yes, but Ellie has everything else. The impulsivity that makes him dangerous also gives her the opportunity to outthink him. She has resources, she has backup, she has a _plan_.

It’s not a perfect plan, but it _will_ work. Agent Green will follow her and park a little further away. She'll meet with Damien and keep him occupied; Green will sneak up behind Damien and sedate him. He'll take Damien back to the AM, she'll take Adam home, and everything will be made right.

It's going to work.

It doesn't take long to arrive at the address Damien gave her- a vacant motel; god, the man is dedicated to his aesthetic. He probably intentionally chose somewhere without too many other people around, but Ellie can use that to her advantage, too. It means fewer people he can use against her.

“Oh good, you came. I was beginning to think you would bail on me.” Damien is standing a few paces away, waiting for her. Blood on his lip, the beginnings of a black eye, and an expression so smug she could kill him.

And beside him: Adam. _Adam_ , with his sleeves pushed up and his fingers curled around the handle of a knife.

Ellie feels the tiniest flicker of relief when she notes that the knife is pressed against Adam’s arm, not his throat. Damien is threatening to hurt him, not to kill him. Not that you can't die from a cut on the arm. Or the stomach.

Oh, God. Damien doesn’t know Adam’s history. He wouldn’t know, he can’t know . . . unless Adam told him. Unless Damien wanted to know the best, worst way to hurt her.

“No offense, Annie, but you haven’t exactly given me a lot of reasons to trust you. Give me the serum.”

“Give me my nephew.” She takes a step towards them, and Adam flinches. Damien smirks. “I’ll remind you that your precious nephew is holding a knife, and he’ll do whatever I want him to, so I wouldn’t try anything if I were you.”

As soon as this is all over, she is going to rip Damien from limb to limb. She has the resources to make his life a living hell, and God knows she has the motive.

But right now, the important thing is to keep Adam safe, which means stalling until Owen can get to Damien.

“Please, Annabelle,” Adam says, “just give him what he wants; I don’t - I don’t know what he’ll do, just please -”

She wants nothing more than to run to him and wrap her arms around him and never let go. But doing that right now wouldn’t be safe, so she settles for using her words. “Adam, I promise I won’t let you get hurt.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Adam?”

“I don’t believe you,” he repeats. “I don’t trust you, I - you’re the reason this is even happening in the first place! You locked people up, you hurt people, Annabelle! This wouldn’t be happening if you hadn’t done the things you’ve done!” He points the knife towards her - not like he’s trying to attack her, but like he’s trying to defend himself. He’s trying to defend himself _from her,_ and something in her breaks at that realization. “I don’t want to be near you,” he says. “You should - you should go.”

“Adam, you don’t mean that.” She takes a step towards him. 

“Don’t I?” He presses the knife back against his own arm, and it’s probably not enough to actually hurt him, _probably_ , and goddamnit, where is Owen?

“Clock’s ticking, Annabelle,” Damien says. “I’m not asking for much.”

For the first time in a very long time, Ellie Wadsworth feels utterly powerless. She’s made every effort to avoid it. She fights hard, always, to make sure that she has the upper hand, that she’s the one in control and everyone else knows it.

But this is one situation where she can’t claw her way to the top, can’t find a way to flip the tables in her favor. One wrong move on her part could lead to Adam getting hurt. She can’t protect him, and if she can’t do that, then what was the goddamn point of any of this?

She swallows. “I’ll give you what you want.”

“Yeah, so you keep saying, but you have yet to actually hand anything over.” 

She reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a vial. It’s more of the sedative, but Damien doesn’t know that, and he can’t wrench the truth out of her. She may not have had as much time to plan as she wanted, but she’s not an idiot. She didn’t go into this without any sort of backup plan.

“That’s better.” He takes a step towards her, then stops. “How am I supposed to know if this is really what you say it is?”

“Either you believe me or you don’t, Damien,” she says. “I don’t have time to play games with you.”

He narrows his eyes at her. “Yeah? What if I tested it on Adam, huh? Just to make sure you’re not trying to pull something on me.”

“Then you’d lose the only pawn you’ve got.” She sees Adam flinch when she calls him a pawn, and it’s nearly enough to break her, but she presses on. She can - finally- see Owen creeping up behind Damien. She just needs to keep Damien distracted long enough for Owen to give him the sedative. “Are you sure you want to risk that?”

Damien starts to respond, then pauses, hearing something behind him. “Wait.” He spins around and finds himself face to face with Owen. “Oh, come on!”

“Goddamnit, Green,” Wadsworth mutters. Owen reaches out to try to inject Damien with the sedative, but he dodges and pushes Owen away. 

In his effort to evade Owen, Damien bumps Adam and jostles his arm. Adam grimaces, but evidently, Damien is distracted enough to lose his grip on him. Adam drops the knife and throws himself towards Annabelle. 

She throws her arms around him and pulls him close. “Oh, Adam, thank god.”

He doesn’t say anything, but he hugs her back, and that’s enough. 

“We’re going to get you out of here, Adam, okay? You’re safe now, you’re going to be okay.” The situation is far from resolved, but for once, she’s not focused on planning her next move. Her world is confined to her nephew in front of her, to holding him at arm’s length and scanning his face for a sign that he’s okay, to pulling him back into an embrace.

And then Owen cries out, and the bubble shatters and her world expands again. It occurs to her that she should help him, but just as quickly as her attention was pulled away from Adam, it’s pulled back, because he’s pushing away from her now, trying to twist out of her grip. “Adam-”

“Let go of me!” 

“Adam, listen to me. I know this is a difficult situation” - Adam scoffs, but she presses on, “But I need you to stay with me. I’m going to get you out of here; I need you to trust me.”

“Trust you? Annabelle, you _experimented_ on people!”

“Adam, I-” 

“ _Don’t touch me._ ”

She’s seen Adam angry before, but never like this. Never so full of hate. He really, truly hates her right now. 

But she’s not going to let go of him. He can hate her for it, but she won’t let Damien get his hands on her nephew again. 

“Adam, I love you, okay?” She’s given up on trying to keep her voice steady; every ounce of what she’s feeling shines through now. “I _love you_. I’m going to protect you, I-”

A few feet away, Damien grunts and collapses, and Adam relaxes in Ellie’s arms, stops trying to pull away from her. She pulls him closer. Her relief feels more solid now than it did a minute ago. He’s safe. She’s in control again. 

“Annabelle-”

“Shhh,” she says. “You’re okay now. You’re safe. I won’t let him hurt you again.”

He returns her hug, and this time, he doesn’t pull away. 


	5. like losing my balance (again and again)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Sorrow" by Sleeping at Last

There are a million things Adam should be worrying about - what his aunt does, what got them in this situation in the first place, what happens next - but his worries fly through his head too fast for him to focus on any of them. So, instead, he focuses on his aunt’s arms around him, on her relieved whispers. Maybe he shouldn’t, but he feels safe in her arms. 

Annabelle pulls away first. “I . . .” she blinks, as if she’s just remembering where she is. “I need to check on Owen.” Adam follows her line of sight to Damien, slumped on top of another man who doesn’t look to be in much better condition. “Go wait in the car.”

“Damien’s unconscious, right? He can’t . . . do anything?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, then I’m not going anywhere.”

“Adam-”

“No, listen.” He gives her a look that he hopes conveys _you just put me in a life-threatening situation and you have no room to argue with me right now_. “He might be hurt because of me; I’m at least staying with you to check if he’s okay.” 

It occurs to Adam that the man in question is only a few feet away, and might be able to hear him, and he probably shouldn’t talk about him like he’s not there. 

He moves a bit closer and hovers over Damien and the other man (Owen, according to Annabelle), unsure what to do. Owen looks . . . not great. He’s pale, and there's blood soaking through his shirt. His eyes are closed, his breaths heavy.

“Are you . . . okay?”

He opens his eyes. So, not unconscious, but in bad enough shape that he’s been lying on the ground with his eyes shut and no apparent intention of getting up. "Yes, I'm - yes." Adam wants to believe the words, but the wince that accompanies them doesn’t help sell it.

“Are you sure?

Annabelle appears beside him and kneels down next to Owen and Damien. “Jesus Christ, Green,” she mutters.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding.” She pushes Damien away so that he’s no longer pinning Owen down. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I’m _fine_ , Director.” He pushes himself up off the ground, and nearly collapses as soon as he stands up. 

Annabelle catches him by the waist and supports him, rolling her eyes. “You’re not fine.” She nods towards her car. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Well. This is a fun situation.

It’s a definite improvement over being kidnapped, but sitting in a car with his aunt who probably experiments on people, his unconscious kidnapper, and a man he’s never met who probably just saved his life isn’t exactly Adam’s idea of a good time.

Adam is used to not knowing the right things to say, but this is an entirely new level of What the Fuck. Seriously, what the hell is he supposed to say? “Hi, I’m Adam, thank you for saving my life, I really hope you don’t experiment on people like my aunt apparently does?”

He can’t figure it out, so he doesn’t say anything. They ride to the AM in silence. 

It doesn’t take long to get there. A few employees (guards? Scientists? Doctors? Adam can’t really tell) come to carry Damien and Green inside. Annabelle murmurs something Adam can’t hear to one of them, then turns to Adam.

“Let me see your arm.”

Shit. Of course she noticed. She was right there when it happened; it would have been stupid to expect her not to know. Still, he’d hoped she wouldn’t. He doesn’t want her to worry any more than she already has. 

“It’s not a big deal.” The instinct to hide his pain is as familiar as the pain itself. 

“Let me see it.”

He pushes up his sleeve and extends his arm to her. It’s not a deep cut; he really will be fine.

“He hurt you.” A statement, not a question. “I won’t let it happen again.”

He’s not sure he wants the answer, but he asks anyway. “What are you going to do to him?”

“Let’s not worry about it right now, okay? You’re safe. That’s what matters.”

“I . . . okay.” Annabelle doesn’t normally dodge his questions. Maybe he should push harder for an answer, but instead, he stares out the window. He watches the door shut behind Green, and it finally hits Adam why he recognizes him. He looked familiar, and it’s been digging at Adam’s subconscious this whole time, but he wasn’t able to place it. He can now, though: Green is the man he and Caleb saw walking into Dr. Bright’s office with a briefcase back when they were staking out her office.

Holy shit. _Caleb_.

“Annabelle-” he’s about to ask her to call Caleb, but he stops himself. He’s suddenly not sure it’s a good idea to let Annabelle talk to his Atypical boyfriend. 

He doesn’t trust her. There’s no dancing around it anymore. The other stuff he could rationalize away: everything he said was just because of Damien’s influence; the reason he hid the cut was because he didn’t want to worry Annabelle, not because he was scared of what she might do to Damien if she knew. But his hesitation now is concrete, irrefutable proof: he doesn’t trust her. Not entirely. Not anymore.

“Thanks for getting me,” he finishes. It’s a stupid fucking thing to say, but he needed _something_. 

“Adam . . . I’m sorry.”

“Okay.” He doesn’t know what else to say. It’s not like he can tell her it’s okay, or that he forgives her, because it’s not and he doesn’t. 

“I never, ever meant for you to be in danger like that.”

“I know,” Adam says. “I . . . I’m sorry, too. For the things I said.”

“It’s okay, Adam. I know it was because of Damien.”

“Right,” Adam says, but he’s less sure. Yeah, he was angry because Damien wanted him to be, but it still felt like his own anger. And the words he said - those were his, not Damien’s. 

He is angry at Annabelle. Even without Damien around to push that feeling on him. She’s done things to people that Adam doesn’t even want to think about, and, oh, yeah, he got fucking kidnapped because of it. 

But he really can’t handle having that conversation right now, so he just nods and falls silent again. 

Then, after a minute, he says, “Mom’s gonna kill you.”

* * *

She very nearly does. As soon as Adam gets home, after all the hugs and tears and “thank God you’re okay”s, his mom erupts on Annabelle. Annabelle screams right back, and in seconds, the whole house is filled with a cacophony of accusations. 

“Can’t believe you would put him in danger like that-”

“You know I would never-”

“You did!”

“-everything I’ve done to protect-”

“He’s not _your_ son.”

Adam’s almost surprised none of the neighbors come over to complain. Then again, they probably don’t want to get caught in the crossfire. Which, honestly, is a fucking mood.

He backs towards the stairs, trying to get as far away from this conversation as he possibly can. His dad stops him. “Where are you going?”

“Just up to my room,” Adam says. “I have to- I need to call Caleb.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

Adam is immediately defensive. “What do you mean?”

His dad glances towards Annabelle and Becca. “Your mother and I don’t want you getting mixed up in all of this Atypical stuff, especially after what happened tonight.”

“Caleb isn’t ‘all this Atypical stuff;’ he’s my boyfriend,” Adam bites. “Who I know for a fact is scared out of his mind, so I need to at least tell him I’m okay.”

Adam’s dad sighs and nods. “You have five minutes.”

“Fine.”


	6. and I want to go home (but I am home)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from "Riches and Wonders" by The Mountain Goats (thanks, Luna)

Caleb has never in his life been more relieved to hear his phone ring. Caleb accepts the video call, and Adam’s face fills the screen. And behind him: the familiar pattern of his wallpaper, his meticulously organized bookshelf. Adam is _home_. 

Caleb is so relieved he could cry. He wants to say as much, but the only word he can muster is, “Adam.”

“Hey.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Adam says. “Yeah, I think I am.”

“Thank god.” God, he really is going to start crying.

Alice leans in so she’s visible on the screen. “Don’t ever do that again,” she tells Adam, “or I’ll kick your ass and then Damien’s. And probably your aunt’s too, for good measure.”

“Right.” Adam smiles a little. “In the future, I’ll try to avoid getting kidnapped, got it.”

Caleb laughs, not because the comment was particularly funny, but because it’s _Adam_. Adam, home and safe and okay enough to make stupid smartass quips. 

Alice uses Caleb’s shoulder to push herself off the ground. “I’m gonna go tell Mom and Dad he’s okay.”

Caleb nods. “Thank you.” He’s thanking her for more than just telling their parents, and he knows she knows it.

Alice shuts the door behind her, and Caleb turns back to Adam. “Are you sure you’re okay? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m okay, Caleb,” Adam says. “He didn’t - I don’t think he really wanted to hurt me, unless he felt like he had to. He just wanted to scare Annabelle.” He looks past Caleb to the mess behind him. “What happened to your room?”

Caleb shrugs. “I got scared.”

“Are you okay?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Caleb says. “You’re the one who got kidnapped.”

“First of all, you already did ask me. Twice. Second, you’re the one who got _stabbed_. And third, that doesn’t answer my question.”

“I don’t know." He idly picks up one of the books he threw to the ground earlier, then sets it back down. “I’m more okay than I was, now that you’re safe. But that was . . . I was fucking terrified. You were gone, and I felt helpless, and I didn’t know what he might do to you-” Caleb’s voice catches, and fuck, he’s crying now. “I don’t ever want to go through anything like that ever again. I don’t want _you_ to go through anything like that again.”

“I know, babe.” Adam’s voice is soft, and it pulls Caleb a little closer to being okay. Caleb is never going to stop being awed by the way Adam can always make things better somehow. He doesn’t know what he’d do without him, and he’s so, so grateful that he doesn’t have to find out. 

“I’m sorry,” Caleb says. 

“For what?” 

Where does he even start? “For letting this happen. For not stopping Damien, for not protecting you.”

“You couldn’t have,” Adam says. “Damien is . . .”

“I know,” Caleb says. “I just . . . I wanted to be able to protect you. I didn’t want you to get hurt, and I’m so fucking sorry that you did.”

“It’s not your fault,” Adam says. “What Damien did is on him, and I know you would have stopped him if you could have.” He swallows. “I’m sorry you got hurt because of me.”

“No, hey, it’s- you just said that what Damien did is on him. I got hurt because of him, not because of you.”

“Yeah,” Adam says. God, it’s good to hear his voice. The only thing that would be better would be actually being near him, feeling his emotions again.

“Are you . . . can I come over?”

“My parents won’t let you,” Adam says, his face apologetic. “I had to fight them just to get them to let me call you.”

“Is everything . . . well, I don’t want to ask if everything’s okay, because that’s a fucking stupid thing to ask right now, but . . .”

“I’ve seen my mom get angry before, but this is just . . . a whole new level,” Adam says. “Once she finishes screaming at her, I’m really not sure if she’ll ever talk to Annabelle again.”

“Would you?” Caleb asks. “Or, I mean, will you?”

“I . . . don’t know.”

“Sorry,” Caleb says. “I - we don’t have to talk about it right now. I’m glad you’re safe.”

Adam sets down his phone, and Caleb is left looking up at his ceiling as Adam has a conversation Caleb can’t quite make out. He recognizes Adam’s dad’s voice, but he can’t make out the words they’re saying.

Adam reappears. “I have to go. My dad . . .” He doesn’t finish the sentence, but it’s enough of an explanation as it is.

Caleb nods. “Okay.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow, I promise,” Adam says.

“I love you.” He can never say it enough.

“I love you too.”

Adam hangs up, and Caleb immediately calls Chloe. She picks up right away. “Caleb? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m- everything’s okay, yeah,” he says. “Adam is home; he’s safe. He just called me.”

“Oh thank god.” Caleb’s ability doesn’t work over the phone, but he doesn’t need it to know how relieved she is. 

“Yeah.”

“How are you doing?”she asks.

“I’m okay, I think. I’m glad Adam is safe; that’s the most important thing. But that was fucking terrifying.”

“God, I know.”

“Are you okay?”Caleb asks. 

“My head still hurts, but yeah. I think I’ll be okay.”

“That’s good,” Caleb says. “We should probably tell everyone else he’s okay, right?”

“Right, yeah. Frank is home with me, and I’m pretty sure Mark and Dr. Bright went back with Sam to her house - her other house, I mean - so I can call Sam, and that’ll be everyone.”

“Thanks, Chloe.”

“Of course,” she says. “And hey- I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Bye, Caleb.” She hangs up.

Caleb sets his phone down, and it finally hits him how completely, totally exhausted he is. His worry kept him up, but now everything is as okay as it can be under the circumstances, and he’s so, so tired. He crawls into bed and falls asleep in minutes.


End file.
